Part 2: There Is Something Very Wrong With My Body, With My Soul.
“What?”
That’s all that I could say. I truly hoped this was just a nightmare. A horrible one. Sweat ran across my face and my back.
I heard a deep chuckle from the back of my head.
“Fear not, mortal. Your body is in the hand of someone who will ensure that it serves its purpose.”
My heart sank deep.
“What in the bloody hell are you???”
I heard the same deep chuckle once again. This time, more clearly.
“I can see that you do not know who I am. This makes things even more interesting.”
I rubbed my mouth with my shirt, as to get that black liquid off and in the meantime, I wondered. What did this thing want of me?
“What do I want of you? Nothing. I already have what I need. A body which I can seek refuge in.”
My whole body froze. This thing was in me, not only that, but this thing can see my thoughts. There goes my Friday night plan.
“So, you want to use my body, but I still don’t know what you are, why my body and how come I’m not dead??”
The thing grunted.
“I’m not a “Thing” I’m just as a living being as you are, but unlike you, I was forced into this hellhole since I was found by this wrenched ORGANIZATION!”
As the thing screamed my head exploded in pain. I covered my ears, but it was of no use. I thought I was about to faint, but then it stopped.
“I’m aware of what has happened, I’m aware of what’s about to happen, but I’m unaware as to how I would survive. I needed a host. I needed to survive. You humans, you have a pathetic cell level and biochemical build up. I couldn’t fix my own body, it would have taken too much energy, which I didn’t have, but I could heal yours. I had a simple choice. Either die here and now. Or give up my freedom so I may live in someone else’s body. I honestly thing, a choice like this is embarrassing for someone like me to be forced to make. Yet, here we are.”
I crawled up from my knees and stood up. Legs were still shaking, but soon they stooped.
“This is fine and dandy but what’s stopping you from simply seizing my body the second you get enough power?”
I asked as I slowly began walking up the stairs. I actually had a lot more energy than before, I felt like I could run a marathon if I wanted to.
He was not happy with my question.
“Do humans all assume we have our own traitorous reasons to help? I might be weak as of now, but I could still do things which you would certainly not like.”
I laughed a bit.
“You already did something I do not like.”
I could hear it laughing.
“Sorry, not sorry. If not for me, you would have perished.”
Trying to lighten the mood seemed like the best idea. If I were to live with this thing I needed to make sure I’m on its good side. If not, the consequences could be dire.
“As I said, fear not. If I wanted to do something I would have done already. I sadly know that if I were to take control over this lump of flesh, I couldn’t mimic your personality. I can see how you talk, walk, act, but sooner or later the changes show. If not, we wouldn’t be talking.”
The thing said as I reached the top of the staircase.
“You know you’re the worst at telling people that they are safe.”
I chuckled as I looked around in the dark. The emergency lights have died by now and the endless cold darkness hugged the whole wing. Any light that was before now shunned away.
“Even worse than Lauri? I know I’m not good with these so-called emotions, but even I think he’s bad at it.”
My blood ran cold. What happened to Lauri? Last I saw of him he was running for his life like I was. Maybe Subject-66 has gotten him too? My thoughts raced after one and another to what could have happened to him.
“He’s not dead. I think. The last time I saw him he was still alive, he was entering some kind of bunker. Also I just realized how many cameras you guys have. Like, I know we are the beasts of this world, but damm.”
I sighed in relief. He was alright. The idiot made it out alive.
“I wonder. Can you guys all talk? Like, I don’t know what or who you are but you sure do speak English well. I’m actually surprised.”
“I do not know if the others can. I know I couldn’t. I only learned it when I entered this body of yours. These disgusting words were in my mouth after that. Good to know I’m capable of something like this, might be useful later on”
“Hold the fuck up. You didn’t even know you could do that?”
“This facility and its people locked me up in a cell. Without any light, barely any food and water. Without anyone to even look at. I couldn’t have known what power I had. I knew most things, but things like this, never had the chance to test.”
I began walking around the facility only to hear loud gunfire and shouting. Damm. Seems like the White Guards finally broke in and began subduing the escaped subjects. I’m sure glad I found one which doesn’t seem like a bloodthirsty beast. Hopefully.
The White Guards.
The Elite of the Elite. The best this god damn organization had to offer. Hard trained people, most of whom has experience in war zones. Best pay, reputation, honor, glory, ya name it, they have more than you ever will. Sadly, one flaw of these guards is their numbers. It’s too god damn low. There’s barely enough to cover a wing(we have eight wings, North, South, East, West, North-West, North-East, South-West, South-East) so around 12% of this big ass facility. It takes forever to get them somewhere, just as long as it is to recruit new ones. As I said before this organization had a fallout with the government(s) by this, I do not wish to disclose to which nation our headquarters are, as I have to keep a few things out, as to not expose myself, Lauri or this thing in my body.
I think this is a great time to tell you all as to why the government hates our asses. It was a bit of a time ago, I was not part of this organization during that time, so I need to trust Lauri’s words for it. It’s quite complicated but I try my best to tell it.
It was around 2007-ish. I don’t really remember, so I have to guess. From what I know the accident happened in South America, maybe Peru? The organization was tracking down an anomaly which now we call Subject-22. Subject-22 is a humanoid shaped being with high interest in electricity and anything that uses it or has it running through it.
Its usual behavior is best summarized by one of the researchers working on it.
“This thing is a pain in the ass, as it’s not only hard to contain, it’s reckless behavior costs this wrenched facility so much money and resources that we are actively working on a way to put it down for good.”
In appearance it resembles something like a magnetic tornado, but it has human features, such as eyes, mouth and such. It is also around average size, which makes it easier to contain it. It isn’t necessarily aggressive, but it cannot or doesn’t want to control its powers. It is highly dangerous as it can spread high voltage electricity through water it touches, therefore any metal or water is of high risk for any near person.
If it manages to consume electricity, it does it in a rapid fashion, being able to suck the entire facility dry in a matter of minutes. It is also problematic, as whenever it consumes electricity it increases its power in an irreversible way. This is the reason why, while not being that big of a threat at the moment, the organization spends a fortune trying to keep it locked down as much as it can.
Now that you have a grasp of why this being is so dangerous and problematic, I can explain the whole story.
A normal unit was sent out to find Subject-22 and apprehend it. Lauri was a member of this team. To say he can thank his life to stupid luck is says something about the outcome. But let’s dive into it.
The troops were deployed around 120 kilometer from Arequipa, a sizeable city. The troops were given the simple task of finding out what has been causing a few things: the often occurring power outage, the missing people and why there have been more cases of “eel” attacks, as more people were found with heavy burn-marks originating from electrical shocks and those without any sign of burns, their internal organs were still fried to the level where it was almost guaranteed that any deaths could be traced back to the “eels”. But one can only blame it on eels for so long, as when even people far from water shown signs of electrical burns, it became obvious that the organization needed to step in.
Around 25 personnel were sent, as the organization suspected that there was an entity, but as a few problems arose back home, couldn’t send any more than that. So, they sent those who would be the least problematic if they were to parish. These men were lightly trained and armed individuals of the forcefully conscripted volunteers. Lauri was one of them. He admits that while he was happy about the higher pay, food and living conditions, the outcome of the mission still haunts him to this day.
Only Lauri and two others out of the 25 made it out alive. The thing killed them without leaving any traces left and went out to cause chaos among the villages located nearby. Around 250 civilians died and another 37 law enforcement personnel also met their maker. The full story is mostly kept secret from most people so this is the best I can tell, as telling much more could be problematic.
This is the reason why the government demands more and more say in the organization’s ways of handling things. I personally think that there is no right or wrong in this case in this argument. The government wants more control as it thinks that it can do a better job and prevent such large scale civilian deaths and just death in general. The organization knows what it deals with and fears that if they allow others who work for the government the secret may get revealed.
Now that you’re aware as to why this whole organization has been struggling with both finding a workforce and financially, we may return to the part where I left off.
Loud gunfire echoed through the northern-wing. Screams rampaged through the ears of every unfortunate victim of this chaos and madness. I crouched down and slowly began making my way towards the noise. I soon arrived at the scene. Let me tell you something. If you think something is bad it is a BAD idea.
Subject-53 also known as Lazarus by a few scientists is a hulking stone monstrosity with a glowing black orb in its chest with pink light illuminating its surrounding area. It is extremely hostile towards any lifeform and strong as well.
I saw the guards trying to shoot at Lazarus but it was nothing. The bullets dropped off him like a fly would. Lazarus reached out to one of the guards, grabbing its head. It then began crushing it. We saw as the guard began screaming in agony, his nose beginning to bleed. Soon, his eyes joined. Then, a simple wet sound, the likes you heard when you stomp on a tomato. Blood, skull and brain matters swiftly invaded the floor before Lazarus let go of the body. Then the lifeless body of the guard fell onto the floor, twitching non-stop.
A guard stood in fear, next to him. He was gazing upon his dead comrade who was now nothing more than a corpse that might be identified if the organization bothers with it. If not, no one will know who he was or even be remembered. The guard, with fear infiltrating his body, looked up upon Lazarus. Lazarus with a simple slam, threw the poor guard’s body across the whole corridor. His body landed with a sickening thud and I fearfully looked at him. He reached out a hand for his comrades to help, but the more I looked the more I wanted to gag. His upper body faced the floor. His upper body, on the other hand, faced the ceiling. Not soon after, the life essence left the poor soldier’s body.
I covered my mouth as I looked back at Lazarus and the guards. One guard was firing while screaming for his life. Lazarus reached out with one hand and grabbed his jaw. He pulled his jaw towards himself, dislocating it and ripping the skin and muscle off. The guard instantly fell onto his knees and grabbed his jaw, or rather, what remained of it. It was crushed, bone pieces and teeth fell out. Blood poured onto the ground along with his saliva and tears. With each breath he took we could hear the air escaping in an unorthodox way. Lazarus then grabbed him by the head and tore his hand into his chest. He ripped his heart out and then shoved it into the guards mouth. The almost dead guard was then thrown at the ground and his head stepped on.
A female guard just stood there, dropping her gun. Lazarus looked at her. She opened her mouth to scream but Lazarus grabbed her mouth. With one hand he grabbed her upper jaw and with another, her lower jaw. He then began pulling her upper jaw upwards and her lower jaw towards the ground. If you ever saw the picture of a buff man ripping a log into two by pulling it, yea, same thing, it was just someone’s jaw. The result? Her whole mouth was ripped open like a trash can. I think if you were to look into her mouth, you could see down to her stomach.
The guards finally brought out the anti-material weapons. They did a far better job at hurting Lazarus, with bullets tearing pieces off this hulking stone monstrosity. He tried to cover his head with his hand, but it was ineffective. Lazarus, enraged, picked up one of the corps and threw it at the guards. They fell like bowling pins, but to their luck, one of the guards managed to shoot out one of the gas pipes above Lazarus, blowing his upper body into thin pieces. I wanted to walk towards the guards so I could be rescued, but I heard a noise.
“No. Don’t. He went down too easily.”
It was the voice.
I hesitated. In the end, if I waited I could just shout to them when they were going away, so I had nothing to lose.
Lazarus’s orb began glowing brightly and I suddenly heard an ear deafening scream.
“NO! PLEASE! LET ME DIE! NO! NOOOOO!”
His body began to reanimate. The shattered pieces began forming back into solid blocks. The guards finally managed to bring high explosive weapons and fired upon the swiftly rebuilding entity. Each shot broke off more and more of Lazarus before there was nothing left, other than a ton of stone pieces and a glowing stone orb. It was swiftly placed into a glass container and a few guards began running with the now contained entity.
“Now.”
The voices boomed in my head.
“HEY! HERE!”
I screamed. The guards turned to me with weapons raised. I was honestly surprised that I didn’t get shot. In high-sight shouting at combat fatigued and tired soldiers is NOT a smart idea.
“Down with the guns, it’s one of ours.”
A soldier dressed in crimson red said. A captain, I believe.
I nodded.
“Can you guys help?”
They nodded.
“Bring this one to safety”
a few other guards motioned for me to follow them. We began making our way towards the exit of the northern wing, but what I was, terrified me. Corpses. Remember what I said earlier? That there were corpses everywhere? Yea, turns out, it CAN be worse, as corpses literally pile on each-other. Worst of all? A few of them weren’t even dead. They begged for help, but their injuries seemed fatal. It seemed like they didn’t have the capability to try to help those neither the time to end their suffering.
We finally arrived at our destination. A hospital was established rather hastily. I was told to sit down and wait. That’s what I did. I’m not gonna argue with a guy with a big ass rifle, ya get what I mean. I put down my ass on a cold metal chair. I looked around to see people in agony and pain. Hell, even some of the doctors and nurses were injured and I was there like. No injury. Then I heard a familiar noise.
I turned my head to see Lauri. He had some bandages on his head, they were a bit bloody, but other than that, he seemed to be alright. I stood up and shook his hand, which quickly turned into a hug. I patted his back.
“Bloody hell, mate, you have no injuries? How did you manage to do that?”
Lauri asked as he laughed to himself. I opened my mouth to tell him the truth. I know I could trust him.
“I managed to hide from every Subject. That’s all”
This isn’t what I wanted to say. My mouth and body acted on it’s own.
“I CANNOT let you tell this idiot what has happened, just because you think you can “trust” him. I am not going back into that hellhole just because you’re an idiot.”
The thing said. It was clearly against any action of me telling anyone the truth.
Lauri shook his shoulder.
“You’re still alive mate, that’s all that matters.”
A guard entered the room.
“Anyone who can walk will now be asked to leave the facility. We will handle the rest. See you all in 3 days.”
I looked at Lauri. We shook hands once again and made our way out of the facility. I looked at the sky. The once endless darkness was now broken by the pink rising of the sun. Its faithful sunlight meets my eyes. I smiled. I know I was safe. I know, at that moment, whatever this thing was. It also smiled.
Did it smile because it was happy?
Did it smile because it was free?
Did it smile because it was alive?
I do not know.